Salkafar

I interpreted his silence as "Seriously, Steve? Seriously? I started this? You still don't get what this is about? What the hell happened to you?" What Captain America was fighting for was the freedom for super-people to fight for whatever they believed in, while keeping their true identity a secret and not answering to anyone. Apparently he didn't realize this covers HYDRA, too. His refusal to accede to a law passed by the duly elected representatives of the country he is a citizen of and in whose army he served was a crime. You see, private citizens - which I think Captain America is, since he is no longer serving in the Army, oddly enough - are supposed to obey the law. There was a time when you could own as many guns as you wanted without a license or registration. Then, a law was passed making this compulsory, and people who refused to accede to this were deemed felons. If a citizen does not like a law and wants it changed, he or she can write to their congress member, to a newspaper, on the Net, organize a public rally or demonstration, or express their unhappiness by voting. Doing so by ignoring the law they don't like, and actively opposing law enforcement officers who, well, officially enforce the law, is called a crime. The main argument against registration was that the identities of heroes would be outed - that the registered identities, although not available to the public at large but only to the relevant legal authorities in case it became necessary, would fall into the hands of supervillains who could then attack the families and loved ones of these heroes. The upshot of which is that these heroes would have a special position when compared to other public servants such as policemen and -women, who do not enjoy the privilege of keeping their identities secret to protect their families from criminals. Never mind that Cap never even considered cooperating with the authorities. I have said it before and I'll say it again: if the Avengers had agreed to this, they would have run the show within the year, and Congress would, to their astonishment, find that superheroes now would be capable of exerting political power. Working together, the superheroes would have had Congress over the barrel. In fact, the more cooperative they were, the more subtle their demands, the more influence they could have exerted. Congress would have to choose between repealing the act or accepting that the Avengers were becoming a third party that might end up in power. Hell, Captain America could have been president - something he has always refused, for whatever reason... it seems a bit irresponsible, considering who did get into office (Remember the Secret Empire?). Instead, he did the one thing which ensured the optimal amount of damage. That has always made me wonder. Did someone mess with his head? They always said that that was not the case - these were decisions made by people who knew what they were doing. For Iron Man, at least, this was not true, in canon: he had undergone the Extremis process very shortly before the Stamford disaster, and it did affect the way he looked at things. More alarming, right at the start of the War, Captain America 'lost' a few minutes - he blacked out - and it was never explained what that meant. Under normal circumstances I would have said it was Loki messing with the Avengers (Are you kidding me? This was exactly the sort of thing he loves), but he was dead at the time. Anyway. Captain America and Iron Man - and several other people - were acting out of character during the Civil War. How much was considered for attribution to Skrull interference? I guess we'll never know. But it is a fact that Captain America labors under the delusion that what he feels inside to be right is objectively right. That's a dangerous misconception.

It's when Natsuki says "I know that's Shizu's in here with us" when she isn't - she is outside, coordinating the Libertus. I didn't get what she was saying. Also how it would be pertinent to the Libertus guarding them from something outside.

Holy cow. That looks awesome. Yeah, there are parts missing, but you already said so... his vibro-blades, and his neck guard... But it looks like a photograph of a plastic model! Darn!

The world has become too small to be "a country". He seems to expect people to realize he represents the ideals that the United States was founded on, rather than the government, without having to explain it to them, although he is dressed in a flag. He started out as a propaganda tool during wartime. In real life. His solution for complex situations somehow always boils down to punching people. You even have it in your sig. And yet: "I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from." Hilarious. I notice he rarely walks in peace rallies, or ever protests against the actions of his own government. Was he for, or against the invasion in Iraq? How does he feel about secretly shipping terrorist suspects oversea to torture them? Any opinion on waterboarding, Cap? Hmmm. Maybe he is still appropriate as a symbol for the USA... Anyway. He's a soldier. Created by the US army. Wearing the US flag. It doesn't seem right to me. He did occasionally break away from that role... as the Captain, and as Nomad (In that order?). He was still the same man, with the same ideals, he just no longer dressed as if he personally was the embodiment of the United States - or its ideals. Which leads us to a question: What are the ideals of the United States, per se? As I recall they were laid down by the founding fathers - Liberty and justice, from a group of, as George Carlin put it, "White male slave-owners who didn't think anyone but them should be allowed to vote". THAT'S what they should do - redefine "Captain America". What does he actually stand for? What does he base that on? And why doesn't he speak out more often against people in power who blatantly and with total impunity violate those ideals, which they are also supposed to represent?

Actually I would like it if you did, Amika, since that might clear up some translation difficulties I encountered.

At the end of the Marvel Civil War, specifically in an issue of "Home Front", Sally Floyd propelled herself to the top of the ranks of despised comic book characters with one of the dumbest speeches ever to a defeated and imprisoned Captain America (who was portrayed very out-of-character throughout the Civil War anyway). This is in fact famous. But what almost nobody seems to remember is that she shafted Iron Man as badly. In the same issue, she and Ben Urich visit Tony Stark and explain that they have figured out that he has been manipulating several key players and parties in the Civil War, ostensibly to make money, but as it turns out to save the country. Sally then literally applauds him for his efforts and all he can say is "Get out". After they leave, he starts to cry. In "The confession", a sort of epilogue to 'Civil War', Tony explains his motivations to Captain America, step by step, cogently, and it becomes clear that, at the very least in his eyes, the whole thing was inevitable if much, much worse conflict was to be avoided. But he ends on "It wasn't worth this" and it is revealed he is talking to the corpse of Cap. That was pretty moving to me. But I am an Iron Fan and never cared much for Captain America. Dressing in that flag seems to become less appropriate by the year.

Both Hawkeye and the Widow are off-the-scale badass in the comics. And of the many things you can call the Чёрная вдова - beautiful, powerful, professional, seductive, deadly - 'cute' is not one. These people look like Tori and Kari. I meant that as a joke, but gawd, Tori actually looks better than that poor sap who plays the Marksman. To say nothing of Kari, who, unfortunately in this case, still is as cute as a button.

They look absurdly inadequate to their roles. Someone get that casting director on the phone and ask him what kind of crack he's smoking.

Thank you very much, Durendal. I had been eagerly waiting. My idiosyncratic scanlation... http://www.mediafire.com/?y0z0nbsfgw9vojy

I don't think anyone on this board would entertain racism of any sort. It would be too ridiculous.

The heartbreaking thing was that the idea he was defending was that he only answers to his own conscience, and all costumed heroes should be extended the same courtesy. Which is a very interesting ideal for a man who only has super-powers because he enlisted, or tried to. As a soldier. In the US army. Which is the reason for my avatar. A great moment in comics... well, I got into comics for real around the time Superman died. That was pretty big. Everybody knew it wouldn't last (No, actually, not everybody did. One guy wrote into a comics magazine disgusted - and they pretty much had to explain to him that he wouldn't stay dead because in comics, nobody does). But it was still... pretty shocking.

Yes. So, Archanfel is not dead as of this moment. Also, I am starving for the translation.

Um... Archanfel woke up alive and well and ready to kick some butt when Barcas went to Silha to report to him, remember?

I personally think that Apollo not only is an original character, but also has no other identity. That helmet isn't a helmet... that's his face.

Their war is going so badly they need us now. And the fact that we survived their attempt to destroy us shows we are exactly what they need. They're gathering Zoa-Crystals because they know a unified cabal of full Zoalords might give them trouble, but Archanfel is so weakened Chronos can't harvest any new original crystals from him anymore. So once Apollo has harvested all other crystals, they'll have him approach Archanfel and go: "You want to prove yourselves worthy? Okay, here's the deal..."

I theorized that Agito might have set this up to draw Guyot out of the woodwork, knowing that, in a pinch, Sho would not kill him... I really am not sure, much relies on whether or not Agito already was aware that Guyot is still alive and active. He is useless to him as a source for a Zoa-Crystal.. although? Guyot's synthetic crystal might buy Shizu a year or two more... But if he still possesses the Remover (how would he keep it hidden from Jabir and Kurumegnik?)... THEN things might be interesting. If he is rested, he might be able to summon up the bio-energy needed to extract the Unit from Agito all in one go. Guyot with a Unit... that would mean the end of the series. So I think we can safely assume that that's not going to happen. What would Guyot do if he possessed transcendental power? That's the thing: Archanfel has a clearly defined goal, even if it is futile and absurd. What would Guyot's be? Become even more powerful? To what end? Dominate the world? Why? It can't offer him anything he can't get regardless. Maybe his goal is the same as Agito's: knowing that nobody but himself is in charge of his fate. The final conclusion is and remains that the Uranus are the ultimate enemy. And they are aware... through their agent Apollo. (Can I call him Apollo?) *** Okay. Scenario: the Uranus return to Earth and reveal they are in dire straits: their war is going badly. Instead of destroying Earth, they now ask Archanfel for help - he has proven in their eyes that he is competent to serve them, and through the intelligence provided by Apollo they know that the Guyvers pose no threat to them, provided they accede to having the Units removed. They finally agree: Archanfel and all Zoaforms on the planet, including those who agree to join after they learn the truth, will board the Ark (or Ark fleet) and fight for the Uranus, while the rest of humanity stays behind, free from their destiny. Sho, now a normal human again, can unite with his friends and family, while Agito takes the reins of Earth as its ruler (I think we can trust him in that, can't we? I mean, without competition he should be a lot more relaxed..). Guyot has been destroyed in final battle with Archanfel and Shizu was saved by the Uranus' advanced technology; that was Agito's price for surrendering the Unit. I think that could work...

Guyot might be able to mentally dominate the Libertus from up close. Especially if Griselda is occupied. What's Agito gonna do if he realizes Guyot is not only still alive, but threatening to kill Shizu? That should be a determinator...

amen to that.. i guess every guy out there are all waiting for that moment!!! Guess again. Seriously, guys.

SMOKING HOT! Awesome chapter. And yes, it reminded me of his original appearance in battle form, too. Some of the same poses, undoubtedly intentional. And we'll see how the Spidernoids will hold up against the Libertus. I have little doubt they'll have some nasty surprises in store.. it's been too long since the Libertus appeared, the Zoalords will have cooked up something to counter them, just like they did with Aptom...

Man, I can't say how much I love it that Robert Downey is Iron Man. The man is a diva. The Infinity Gauntlet? I sure hope not. It was a pretty poor plot device in the comics... I think it would be a total failure in the movies.

Captain America is super-human, not superhuman. He can be shot. It's just not very likely. Also, the Marvel movies are winched just that much closer to reality than the comics. Is it me, or will dr.Erik Selvig be filling the role traditionally taken by Hank Pym? I don't mean that he'll grow to giant or shrink to tiny size, but that he's gonna be their science guy... It kind of bites me that they left out (Gi-)Ant-Man and the Wasp. But I understand. It might seem goofy, and this movie can't afford to be goofy. They already tried the light-hearted approach with the Fantastic Four movies and it didn't work for me... and yet, I understand that, too. The Avengers are a team. The Fantastic Four are a family.

Since the universe by definition started out as a quantum event, it did not have to behave in any way we can understand. Or even makes sense in any way. The universe could literally have come out of nowhere for no reason whatsoever. When Napoleon, having congratulated Laplace on his monumental work on mathematics, asked him why he did not mention God anywhere in his entire explanation of the universe, the mathematician apparently answered "I did not need that particular hypothesis, Majesty". That's basically the place where all of science is right now. And has been for some time, come to think of it.

That's actually a very good question. They could probably recover the plotted course from somewhere inside that base - it didn't blow up, after all. After that it was just a matter of flying over it. A plane that big... I wonder where it crashed, however. Greenland seems the most obvious answer, but... There would be no reason for the Skull to fly over any land mass once he had passed the British isles.

No guys, you have it all wrong. The villain in the Avengers movie should be... What could compel him to come to our time? The Cosmic Cube. The only thing that could make him more powerful than he already is. He went up against the Avengers in... lessee... #8. And he damn near smeared them, even Thor. Only through the intervention of Rick Jones of all people he was finally defeated (and boy, was he surprised). Ultron is compelling, though. He's my favorite in many ways, and so much more honest than Kang. A machine that hates - what could be innately scarier than that? And he will never stop.

No, never. I am not married (yet). Oh, wait, that's marital arts. Anyway, no, never ever. It occurs to me that when most people say 'martial arts' they usually mean unarmed martial arts like Karate and Aikido. But the term literally means the arts of war, the arts of Mars. Technically, wouldn't that include sniping, tank driving and precision bombing?